Thursday 13 July 2023: Wild Flower Walk, starting from the Woodfield Pavilion, Tooting Common, starting at 11 a.m. and continuing for about an hour.

Report:  Only two people turned up for this walk but we were able to spend an enjoyable hour wandering around the site and discussing some of the plants found there.

‘Thanks very much for the enjoyable walk this morning’.

Friday 14 July:  Urban Plants are Exciting walk, Spring Gardens, also known as Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, starting at 11 a.m.

Report:  c. 25 people turned up on a damp, later wet, morning to spend  about 75 minutes wandering around the area and discussing some of the plants found there.  Despite the rain people were happy to hang around and continue discussion after the walk had finished, so it can be considered to have been a success.

‘A lot of plants were covered.  The host was very informative and interesting. There was space for questions and provide more information. The location was super central.  Amazing talk!’

Saturday 15 July:  Herbal Heritage – Folklore and Uses of our Garden Plants, Amersham Museum, 2-4 p.m.

c.20 people enjoyed a gentle stroll around the Museum’s immaculately maintained and labelled herb garden (well worth a visit!).  However, the leader stressed that cottagers and other ‘folk’ tended to collect their remedies from the local hedgerows or use readily available vegetables, rather than cultivate herbs.  Thus elder (Sambucus nigra), groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) were amongst the plants discussed.

‘A wonderful talk.’

Image:  Amersham Museum herb garden, Buckinghamshire, July 2023.

Edited 15 January 2024.